a Sunday ride through the park.




Looks could be deceiving, he knew. She'd surprised him when she'd


proven to be so knowledgeable about horses, and the way she sat in the


saddle told him she hadn't exaggerated about her riding experience.




"Why are you smiling? " she asked.




"We just might make it to the train, " he replied. "That's what I was


thinking." There was a speck of dirt on his chin. Before she could


think better of it, she reached over and gently brushed it away.




He reacted as though she'd just struck him a hard blow. He jerked back


and turned away from her.




"Let's go, " he ordered. "Harry, open the back doors for us. We'll go


out that way."




"How long will we be in Texas? " Grace asked.




Daniel was about to swing up into his saddle when she asked the


question. He turned to her. His arm was casually draped over his


saddle, his head was tilted ever so slightly to the side, and she


thought he looked exactly like one of the wild and rugged gunmen of the


West she'd read stories about. The wilderness men, as they were


called, were bigger than life and couldn't be tied down. They roamed


the land seeking adventure and danger, and left broken hearts behind


them. Was Daniel like that? she wondered. She thought perhaps that


he was. He just looked the type who would never, ever settle down.




"There's no way of knowing, " Daniel answered, wondering why she was


frowning so intently. "Why do you need to know? " "I have other


commitments, " she said. "They're personal. Could you please make a


calculated guess, Daniel? I really do need to know."




"It's going to take us a week or two to get to Blackwater, depending on


the amount of trouble we run into, " he said. "Then you'll have to


stay until the trial's over and the other men have been caughtţ"


"Why?




" she interrupted. "That could take months."




"I can't let you go on your way until I'm certain none of the other


gang members will come after you." She closed her eyes. "All right


then, " she agreed. "You're telling me I could be in Texas for as


little as a few weeks or as long as two months."




"Could be longer, " he told her.




Her reaction surprised him. Tears came into her eyes. "Then it's


settled."




"What's settled? " he asked, confused by the sadness he heard in her


voice.




She was so disheartened she could barely think what to do. "It's over,


" she whispered. "And I've lost."




"Grace, what are you talking about? " "I don't blame you, Daniel.




Really I don't."




"Will you make sense? " he demanded. "Explain why you're so upset."




"My future, " she cried out. "It's ruined. Even one month's too


long.




Don't you understand? No, of course you don't, but it doesnyt


matter.




It's all my own fault for having such silly dreams. I've wasted too


much time already, and I'd never be able to become established in the


amount of time I have left." Her sigh was long and weary. "I have to


make a stop at the telegraph office before we leave town."




"No, " Daniel said.




"I'm sorry, but I must insist."




"Tell me why, " he argued.




"When a person dreads something, isn't it best to hurry and get it over


with as soon as possible so he'll stop dreading it? " Daniel didn't


have any idea what she was talking about. Harry obviously did though,


for he stepped forward to offer his opinion.




"Do you mean like getting a tooth pulled? " he asked.




"Yes, it's exactly like that, " she agreed.




"She's telling you she's got to send a wire now so she'll stop dreading


it, " he told Daniel.




"I don't need an interpreter, " Daniel snapped. "You can send the wire


from Blackwater. Now let's get going." She shook her head. "Waiting


would only put off the inevitable." After making that statement of


fact, she turned the mare and tried to ride out the front doors.




Daniel muttered a blasphemy before chasing after her.




Harry grabbed hold of the mare's reins and held tight. "Your husband's


getting irritated, ma'am. What have you got to do that's so almighty


important it can't wait? " She burst into tears. "I have to get


married."




"cZ < don't wish to talk about it."




"I don't care if you wish to or not, " Daniel said. "You're going to


tell me why you have to get married." She decided to ignore him. She


leaned back against the padded seat inside their private compartment


and looked out the window at the passing scenery. The train was


traveling at a neck-breaking speed, and because they were in the last


car, the compartment violently swayed every time the train slowed to go


around a curve. The motion was making her nauseous, and judging from


the tightness around Daniel's mouth and his gray countenance, she


thought the motion was making him sick too.




"Are you feeling all right? " "I'm fine, " he snapped.




"You needn't be surly with me, Daniel." They sat across from one


another in the tiny room. There was supposed to be seating for four


adults, but he swallowed up all the space on his side. His long legs


were sprawled out in front of him, making it impossible for her to


leave without making him move first. She wasn't going anywhere,


however. The door was bolted from the inside so that no one could


intrude.




"This probably isn't at all proper, " she remarked.




"What isn't proper? " "Traveling together. It would be frowned on in


England for an unattached man and woman to share a compartment together


without a chaperone."




"I'm a lawman, " he reminded her. "That changes things."




"You're still a man."




"Last time I looked I was, " he told her with a grin.




She looked out the window again, but not before he saw her smile. "Are


you ready to tell me why you have to get married? " "No, I'm not ready


to tell you."




"Are you in trouble, Grace? " She didn't look at him when she


answered. "Yes, I suppose I am." His mind leapt from one possibility


to another, but she wasn't the type of woman who would let a man touch


her before marriage. She was innocent and sweet and definitely


untouched.




"You aren't pregnant."




"Good heavens, no, " she stammered out. "How could you think that I


.




.




. " "You said you had to get married, and you said you were in


trouble.




I simply put the two together, but then I changed my mind. It's a long


trip to Texas, Grace, and eventually you will tell me what I want to


know. You might as well do it now."




"Daniel, I had no idea that men could be such nags. Very well, you


win.




I made a promise to my parents that I would marry Lord Nigel Edmonds if


things didn't work out here. They haven't, " she added.




"I still don't understand. What didn't work out? " She frowned in


vexation. "My parents are titled and therefore highly positioned in


society. They're also quite poor, and it's been very difficult for


them to keep up appearances. They've borrowed against their land, and


they haven't been able to make the interest payments to their banker.




They've been terribly humiliated."




"Has anyone suggested to your father that maybe he ought to think about


getting a job? " "Oh, no, that wouldn't do. He's titled, " she


repeated.




"Being titled won't put food on the table."




"No, it won't, " she agreed.




"If he can't or won't work, then he's going to have to sell his land


and whatever else he has of value."




"That's why I'm getting married.




" "I still don't understand."




"I'm all my father has left, Daniel .




. . " He leaned forward. "Are you telling me he's selling you? " "No,


no, of course not. He simply arranged a suitable marriage for me. "


"And will this marriage solve his financial problems? " "Yes, it


will.




" "Then he's selling you."




"No, he isn't, " she snapped. "Arranged marriages that benefit both


families have been going on for centuries.




My father isn't doing anything wrong. In fact, he's been extremely


patient with me. I asked him for a year's grace, and it was my hope


.




. . my dream really, foolish though it was . . . that I could make a


go of it here. I wanted to purchase land with my inheritance from an


uncleţ" "And make enough to support your parents in the style they're


accustomed to? " "No, you've jumped to the wrong conclusion. My


parents are quite elderly. They were in their forties when I was born,


" she explained.




"But they aren't set in their ways. If the ranch could support them,


they could leave England and come to me. Isn't that adventurous of


them?




You'd like my parents, Daniel. They're very practical, and you'd have


that in common."




"You're not old enough to be shouldering such responsibilities."




"Age doesn't have anything to do with it. The day I was born my future